Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-03-21
VS. W AA--
differences of opl...

much upon the language actually useu'
but more particularly as to the construc-
ton placed upon it. l had no desire
and no cause to misrepresent him ana
as far as am aware did not do so, but
1 had right to and did give the eonciuS-
ions | derived from some of his state
ments. My conclusions were simply his
assersions givea in condensed form
and shorn of everything that tends
to make them vague ana misleading =
these did not please him it is We ha'ui .,
for him to entertain not very e.. ''i'o0
opinion of my article, and the malicio.
epithets he applied thereto will bring for
him only contempt. In regard to "hos-
tile demonstrations, | said, 1--WE were
attentive listeners and heard what he
had to say without giving vent to any
hostile demonstrations. . The ''clap-
ling of hands does not argue anything
One person can clap 'hands" and three
persons clapping makes a crowd, and,
beside, any sort of nonsense or mere
airy vaporing will provoke ''clapping"
on the same principal that some people
sometimes shout amen at the wrong
time in prayer-meeting.
Now in regard to the ownership of
property by the government. If Il mis-
take not, the lecturer did not use the
word government All agitators of
his class seem to avoid the use of that
term and prefer to use some other that
the people are not so familiar with. He
used the term Estate" and | think he
said he meant 1.-The people" Well, the
word government when used in con-
neetion with the ownership of property,
as generally understood, is entirely syn
onymous with Estate" interpreted as
above and means the same thing. 1t is
true, that government also means
representative machine, but SO does
estate" among other things, mean a
political division without distinction as
to wheteer despot rules or the people.
The lecturer certainly said that he
favored the ownership of the railroads,
the telegraph, the telephone, by the
State, lie, the Government. In order
not to be misunderstood in regard to
railroads he stated explicitly that he
had no sympathy with the Interstate
Commerce Bill which simply regulated
the railroads. He also desired the per-
Torrance of the banking business direct
" by the state, lie. the government; in
other words, he 'desired the government
to become vast banking institution"
| also understood him to say that he
favored the state, e. the government,
becoming cooperative institution and
giving employment to everybody that
wants it, etc. If that dosn't mean that
the state, lie. the government, is to own
manufacturing establishments, and
commercial and trading concerns it
doesn't mean anything. And if the
government is to own any it must own
many and in the naural course of time
would eventually own ALL
As these things which l have men,
toned practically include all property
except land" (using the comprehen-
sive definition given to it by Henry
George which is natural wealth and not
produced wealth, and as by giving him
close and undivided attention | did not
understand him to say that he would ex
clude even that, | apprehend that could
logically conclude that the lecturer at
least .'intimated which according to
Webster means. TO suggest obscurely or
indirdctly that he looked forward to
the ownership of all property by the
government. He may not have said so
in SO many words, nor did | say that he
did, but he is too shrewd and too much
of demagogue to make direct and
unequivocal statement of that kind
before q Grant County audi
ence, even if he held such opinions.
When wrote the article above referred
to had no idea of converting the lee
turer from any of his radical doctrines.
but it seems tha. his ideas followed to
logical conclusion so startled him that
he failed to recognize conclusions which
the contracted and narrow limits of his
mental vision would not allow him to
find for himself. BoETHIUS.
hor,h 1897